The Cost of Confidence in Christ
Introduction
I am meant to be on a spiritual retreat, seeking refreshment from the presence of the Lord (Acts 3:20), but sometimes God has other plans. Given that 2023 has been a hard year, mostly from multiple shocks to do with my health, my wife and I thought it wise that I draw aside to seek divine wisdom concerning the rest of my days. (However long or short that might be, only God knows.) Given my growing lack of capacity, I need to be sure that I am walking in step with the Spirit (Gal 5:25). As it so happened, for the first time ever, I am residing in a location with access to satellite TV, and many of the stations are Christian. (God TV, Angel TV, 3ABN, ADTV etc.) Casually viewing these, I was surprised and astounded that so many presenters came across, whether Evangelical, Pentecostal or Adventist etc, as self-confident to the point of arrogance. Only a minority looked and sounded like “normal people”. This prompted me to pray, and so to write, the below article.
The Gift of the Body of Christ
The Lord led me recently to start another early morning prayer meeting for men. By divine arrangement we gather in a local house and, uniquely for me, half the brothers are Indians. Repeatedly, but in an unplanned way, I find myself speaking strong prophetic words of correction/direction into these man’s lives. This is NOT something which I enjoy doing. Wonderfully. whilst this exercise is very exhausting to my health, the bothers are tremendously receptive. Why mention this? Have you ever noticed that Indonesians, Burmese, Pacific islanders and so on tend to a humility that embarrasses we sophisticated Westerners. Years ago, I penned a paper titled, “The European Problem”. It observed that whilst the Church in Europe, North America and Australia is in decline, in other regions it is advancing, sometimes in the face of much open hostility. Western civilisation gave the world democracy, English, technology, science, modern medicine, capitalism, sport (soccer, cricket, rugby). Often, this came through missions and the Bible! This historical superiority has plagued peoples of European origin with an unconscious spirit of pride and superiority. Nothing changes, today, Australian politicians trumpet us as, “The most successful multicultural nation in the world.” Our arrogance renders us bereft of thanks to God and draws divine judgement (Rom 1:18ff.). Generally, this disposition is unconscious and second-nature. The natural and the spiritual are however deeply enmeshed (1 Cor 15:46).
The Voice of the Beast
Many Christian public presenters fail to perceive that when they speak with over-confidence they are participating in a “spirit” (1 John 4:2-3) that ultimately resonates with the beast who speaks “boastful/proud words” (Dan 7:11; Rev 13:5). Intriguingly, the ultimate authority of this power is that its head had a “mortal wound” which has been “healed” (Rev 13:3, 14). Since the language used here is previously used in Revelation of the resurrection of Jesus (Rev 2:8), it is plain that “the beast” is a satirical imitation of Christ. Apart from Jesus’ death, there could be no antichrist! Given that only the one true God alone can “kill and make alive” (Deut 32:39), the devil may have resuscitated the beast, but the line of evil never truly perished. In other words, the depths of suffering in the cross is truly incomparable in the demonic realm. Jesus really died, body, soul and spirit. The glorious risen one testifies, “I died, and behold I am alive forevermore” (Rev 1:18). We are confronted today with numerous painless counterfeits of the Lamb of God (cf. “It had two horns like a lamb but it spoke like a dragon.” Rev 13:11 CSB), not least in the Church.
The Voice from the Cross
Whilst there are “7 words from the cross”, they are distinguished from other, ordinary words, by being broken words full of infinite holy grief. This unique quality is a feature of genuine line of “apostolic succession.” Paul communicated, in “weakness and in fear and much trembling” (1 Cor 2:3), not least because his life was always on the precipice (2 Cor 1:8; 11:25). This is why he could so powerfully claim, without fear of contradiction, “before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.” (Gal 3:1). This is why, “the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Heb 12:24), it has this undiminished power for it is mingled with the blood of prophets and apostles (Rev 18:24). (After all, tone of voice is 70 percent of communication.) It was prophesied of Jesus, “He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets” (Isa 42:2; Matt 12:19). If we have the world hear the voice of the Lamb from heaven resonate today, we must accept this word as a call to broken speech.
Why this revelation NOW?
The self-centred “sandgroper spirit” (James 3:14-18) still dominates the landscape of Western Christianity (https://cross-connect.net.au/warning-warning/). Without cultural transformation in the Church little will change in the world. Inexpert in suffering and dying in Christ, we desperately need a generation of weak, feeble, weeping, prostrate…spiritual fathers and mothers in the Gospel (1 Cor 4:15). We need an impartation of “gentle…submissive” (James 3:17) spirits from men and women who do not always have to be “right” since they know they are already in the right with God and are living in settled divine peace (Rom 5:1; 1 Cor 1:30). These mothers and fathers whom God has long been preparing for a “nameless and faceless” leadership are already in our midst awaiting a divine revealing. Presently, they are as grains of wheat still in the ground dying, when their time of hiddenness is complete, they will indeed “bear much fruit” (John 12:24).
Conclusion
Reading an older classic recently, Absolute Surrender, Andrew Murray prophetically highlights that the Church’s perennial problem is our fleshliness. Our “flesh/old nature” functions like a veil (Gal 5:16-21) obscuring entry into the heavenly life in Christ. Only those who live from the heart (cf. Prov 4:23) will connect to the heavenly Vine (John 15), so bearing supernatural fruit that will remain, no matter what the outward conditions might be (cf. Psalm 1). When we can wholeheartedly say “Amen” to Jesus’ testimony, “apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), then all will change. We will live as men and women dead and made alive. Let us ask the Lord to raise up leaders broken and filled by his Word and his Spirit.